In this episode of The Be Well Now Method podcast Dr. Jan Anderson and I explore the challenges of emotional eating and the concept of emotional exercise.
There are two sides to emotional exercise:
The motivation to move is fueled by fear, guilt, and shame. This type is a reaction to emotions that make you either exercise or avoid exercising.
the motivation to move is fueled by wanting to be well now. This type is a response to emotions with the wisdom that they are simply your body needing to move.
Which do you identify with? That may depend on the situation. If you have experienced the moment of getting on the scale and being shocked at what it says, using that disgust to workout, you have experienced the first scenario. That is exercising in the stress state and will not help with weight loss. It may for a while but it is not designed to last.
The type of emotional exericse that works is responding to emotions as messengers alerting you it's time to pause, notice what you need now, and move to clear the ready-to-move tension. When that is the response to emotions, food is much less likely to lure you into believing it is the answer to your emotional state.
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